1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices and methods that are intended to identify the individual parts used in a larger assembly, such as a vehicle, thereby allowing those parts to be identified if stolen. More specifically, the present invention relates to identification systems where each component part of an assembly is encoded and can be electronically identified.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Every year thousands of cars, trucks and other vehicles are stolen. Many of those vehicles are taken apart and the individual parts are resold. The individual parts rarely contain vehicle identification numbers. Consequently, it is nearly impossible to determine if a used part came from a stolen vehicle or from a legitimate supplier.
Thieves also commonly break into vehicles and steal parts from those vehicles. For example, every year thousands of radios, air bags, wheels, seats and the like are stolen from vehicles. To combat such thefts, systems have been developed that provide an encoded identification number to electronic subassembly parts, such as radio and air bags. Such encoded electronic subassemblies transmit their encoded identification number to the main computer module of the vehicle. When the vehicle is being serviced and the main computer module is connected to a diagnostic computer, the encoded identification numbers of its subcomponents can be compared to identification numbers stored in a database of stolen parts. If a subcomponent is identified as being a stolen part, authorities can be notified. Such prior art stolen article identification systems are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,026 to Brodine (the applicant herein), entitled Vehicle Part Identification System And Method.
A problem associated with such prior art part identification systems is that they are only good for identifying electronic parts, such as air bags and radios that communicate with the main computer of the vehicle and are connected to the battery power of the vehicle. Such prior art identification systems are of no use in identifying non-electronic components such as wheels, fenders, seats and the like. Furthermore, such prior art identification systems cannot identify any part unless that part is installed in a vehicle. Thus, stolen parts that are on a store shelf or are in the junkyards of used part suppliers cannot be readily identified until after those parts are bought and installed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,888,462 to Brodine (the Applicant herein), entitled System And Method For Identifying Component Parts In An Assembly, a system is shown that attaches passive RFID transponders to various component parts of an automobile. In order to activate the passive RFID transponders, the vehicle or vehicle part must be subjected to a strong electro-magnetic field. Only then would the passive RFID transponders have the power to transmit identification data that can be used to tell if the component piece is stolen.
Devices that create electro-magnetic fields strong enough to active RFID transponders through an entire automobile must be powerful. Accordingly, such activation devices tend to be large, heavy and expensive. This has limited the practicality of the system.
A need therefore exists for a component part identification system that can be applied to all component parts that can be used to identify a stolen component part at any location without the need of generating an electro-magnetic field. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.